ED Surge of single households

Time to overhaul welfare policy to narrow income gap

A recent survey has shown that single-member households account for 31.7 percent of the nation's total. According to Statistics Korea, the number of people living alone totaled 6.65 million in 2019, up 500,000 from the previous year. No less noticeable than the sharp rise in the share of one-person households is the widening income gap with the families of two members or more. People in single households earned about 21.62 million won ($18,368) a year on average, 36.5 percent of the average annual multi-person household income. Three out of 10 single households earned even less than 10 million won.

All this shows why the government should strive to help single households find ways out of poverty with better welfare programs. It is necessary to drastically overhaul housing, employment and healthcare policies, currently focusing on three- or four-member families. The population of people living alone currently accounts for only 16 percent of the total, but will continuously increase in the future. Some experts forecast the proportion will surge to 40 percent 20 years from now, stressing the need for an integrated policy approach to this issue.

The government should start with changing employment policies to improve conditions for those with low incomes. The employment rate of one-member households stood at 59.6 percent in October, way below the overall average of 67.3 percent. The one-off part-time jobs that have sharply increased under the Moon Jae-in administration cannot be a solution. The government should provide more stable and long-term jobs even if they pay relatively lower wages. It should seek an answer through supporting the private sector's provision of more job opportunities.

The surge of single households and the consequent poverty issue have become our society's primary concern. Unless the nation preemptively responds to structural social changes resulting from the low birthrate, aging population and the avoidance of marriage among younger people, it will deepen the divisive shadow overcoming our society. The government must provide more high-quality small homes and ensure that there are no disadvantages in taking out mortgages. Also necessary is expanding support services and healthcare to senior citizens. Now is the time to overhaul the country's welfare policy to stem the steep rise of single households living in poverty.